The Research Concept Paper

RESEARCH IS CONVERSATION
(Bernardo, 2009)
Conversation is a social activity
There are other participants in the conversation
Participants have a relatively common goal/purpose in
conversation
Conversations rarely start from scratch
The first contributions to a conversation typically draw from
previous or existing conversations
Purpose might change as conversation progresses
Interesting and important contributions are those that push the
conversation forward in some way
“Writing your thesis or
dissertation is making a
contribution to the
research conversation”
HOW CAN I CONTRIBUTE TO THE
CONVERSATION?
New argument
New definition
Clarification
Illustration or Example
Elaboration or Extension
Refutation or rebuttal
New application
Rephrasing or recasting of a question
Evaluation of an earlier assertion
New or alternative interpretation
New evidence to address unresolved issues
“Do you really have
something to contribute?”
BAD OR INSIGNIFICANT
CONTRIBUTIONS

Saying something obvious

– Saying something people already know or repeating

something that has already been said

– Saying something wrong

– Talking about something no one cares about

Starting your Research

READ!!!!
Starting your Research

CHOOSE YOUR
RESEARCH TOPIC
Starting your Research

• FORMULATE YOUR
RESEARCH QUESTION
Starting your Research

REVIEW THE
LITERATURE !!!!
Starting your Research

THE NEXT STEPS:

Revising your research questions

Designing your research
Choosing your research approach or method
Deciding on the type of research data
Deciding your analysis
Planning the nitty gritty of your research
The Research Concept Paper

A concept paper provides a brief but detailed

description of a students’ proposed research
for his/her thesis or dissertation.
The Research Concept Paper

I. Background and Rationale of the Study

II. Conceptual/Theoretical Framework (if
applicable)
III. Research Questions/Problems/Purposes
IV. Research Hypothesis (if applicable)
V. Research Method
research design, participants, instruments,
data gathering procedure, and data
analysis
VI. References
 The Research Concept Paper
SECTION KEY QUESTION/S

BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE OF Is my research question worth investigating?

THE STUDY How can I justify my research problem/purpose?

THEORETICAL/CONCEPTUAL What theory provides support to my study?

FRAMEWORK How do I conceptualize the variables in my study?

RESEARCH QUESTIONS/ What is the major aim of my proposed study?

PROBLEMS/PURPOSES What specific questions can I formulate?

RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS What are my expectations about the variables in my study

based on the theory?

RESEARCH METHOD What method will I use to address my research

problems/questions?

REFERENCES What are the research literature that I have cited?

 The Research Concept Paper
The following are the specific evaluation criteria for the research
concept paper:

1. The background and rationale for the study are

sufficiently established
2. The proposed study is grounded in theory and
empirical literature
3. The research questions/problems/purposes have
significance
4. The proposed methods are aligned with the research
questions/problems/purposes
5. The proposed study is fit with the research standards for
a graduate student thesis/dissertation
How does one justify a research question?
(Lajom & Magno, 2010)

A research question can be justified by giving the reason

why is there a need to study your research question.

The need to study a question is indicated by three

important things extracted from several studies:

gaps
contradictions
concepts that need further explanations
Gaps in Existing Knowledge

Gaps refer to what is still lacking or missing from

previous studies. Gaps from previous studies are not usually
explicitly given by the author but the readers should be able to
identify what is missing in the phenomenon being investigated.

Gaps can be (a) variables that were neglected to be included in

a study, (b) misrepresentation of a variable in an available
framework, (c) applying a variable in a different setting, and (d)
studying variables in a different way.
Gaps in Existing Knowledge

“There are several reports highlighting the use of PBL in academic learning of
students. However, these reports fall short in terms of appropriate
implementation procedures for PBL and the relevant explanatory investigations
in assessing the effects of PBL, especially in the areas of accuracy and
achievement…Although some studies provided clear structure in
implementing PBL as a method (Ross & Hurlburt, 2004; Lev, 2004), most
studies on PBL showed that the intervention process follows no precise flow
and practitioners device their own techniques in implementing the method.”
Contradictions in Previous Studies

Contradictions from previous studies are easy to detect. If you

encounter a study saying a significant result was found and another
study is found not to be significant with the same variables, then this
is a contradiction.

Contradictions are also shown in two or several studies where their

explanation on the same phenomenon is different.
Contradictions in Previous Studies

“Studies have found that an authoritative parenting style would

foster higher achievement in their child (Rollins & Thomas, 1979;
Champney, 2004; Boveja, 1998; Dornbusch, Ritter, Leiderman,
Roberts, & Fraleigh, 1987). However, there are some studies that
claim otherwise. For example, Lambourn (1991) states that
children who perceived their parents as authoritarian have a good
measure of obedience to adults and do achieve in their academics.”
Concepts that need further explanation

There are lines of research that has been abandoned for a period of time
because of lack of sufficient evidence and the concepts were not further
explored.

There are also concepts that were repeatedly studied using the method over
and over and its stability was not evidenced using other ways.

There are also concepts that need to be defined in a cultural context.

Further clarifications of concepts can be used as justifications especially if the

study is venturing into a variable that is not well-researched on.
Concepts that need further explanation

“Previous parenting measures classifies parents according to a set of

characteristics (Baumrind, 1967; Roberts, Block, & Block, 1984)
and do not provide the degree to which they manifest the
characteristic. The present study constructed a measure of parental
closeness composed of different factors and will be further tested
through Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). There is a need to
further explain the structure of parenting factors and provide a
pattern on how they cluster (Henry, Tolan, & Gorman-Smith,
2005).”